VI
Nika was frustrated. Nick's cutting comment had hurt her.
"Don't need scientists, my ass," she muttered quietly as she rode the elevator up to the first floor.
What she valued most in the world was intelligence, and she began to wonder what she'd even seen in Nick.
Sure, he radiated masculinity and stirred in her some primal instinct to press herself against the alpha male, but that didn't satisfy her.
She hadn't profited much from the physical contact she'd had with Nick, apart from a momentary pleasure that was brief and physical.
But afterward, despite the circumstances, all she got from Nick were commands and orders.
And her rebellious spirit didn't like that.
She valued more the moments she'd spent with the boy in the thick glasses.
With him she could talk, and he had enviable knowledge on all sorts of subjects.
And he was so sweet when he'd blush every time she addressed him.
He had a certain off-putting streak, but that only deepened the mystery of his mind, which was sharp and analytical.
Yes, with him she could talk for hours and never be bored.
She decided she'd spend a few hours with him to get to know him better and explore his intellect more deeply.
The elevator doors opened, and she ran through the security room, which, now brightly lit, stood out from the previous gloom of the primary lighting.
She stopped indecisively on the staircase when she saw the large elevator in the middle of the space.
If she activated the elevator, she'd risk the until-then confined people spreading through the space, and disorder and trouble could follow.
Right now the people were blocked on one level, and that had its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was that everyone was in one place, a place where security had control, while the disadvantages were psychological.
If they didn't occupy those young minds with something, there would eventually be a riot, and other, terrible things too.
Nika decided. She went back into the room and sat at the console in front of the microphone.
She needed a second to think, and then pressed the transmit button.
Um… Hello everyone… Her voice was hoarse for a moment and her thoughts heavy, but the words came without trouble.
As you can see, since our previous announcement we've managed to restore the shelter's power system.
We're working diligently on all the other attendant problems too.
But we have a problem of our own. Namely, though we're skilled, there aren't enough of us, so we'd ask you to help us.
The thing is, we need people with certain knowledge and professions.
We need psychiatrists, psychologists, engineers with knowledge of a closed-type system like ours — mostly power, water, sewage, and the like; I trust those people know best.
Furthermore, we need economists to arrange the supply and distribution of existing reserves.
Yes, we have reserves, and we need people to handle them for the good of us all.
She stopped for a moment, because she knew the shelter had warehouses, but she didn't know what was hidden in them. As far as she was concerned, it could all be dog food. She smiled, imagining eating it for months and growing a long, colorful tail, but she snapped out of it and went on.
Furthermore, we also need people who studied the natural sciences.
There is a laboratory… Here she was firing blind, trusting only the sparse words she'd heard from Nick.
It's fully equipped with instruments, and we need experienced hands to work in it.
At the same time, we also need mechanics to maintain this shelter of ours and, of course, we need people who'll be in charge of the community's morale.
Yes, as of today we are a community. I confirm once more — the outside world is no more, and it's up to us to go on living and surviving.
There she stopped, letting her words settle with the people on the fourth floor.
What she'd thought of next might not fly, but it was the only solution.
She nervously drummed her fingers on the console; she didn't know how Nick would react.
But someone had to take the initiative. After a minute, she finally pressed the transmit button.
In the coming hours, we ask that you, in accordance with your knowledge, confer and choose a representative of your branch of expertise.
You wonder why? Because in closed-type communities the system works best if everyone knows their place.
So what we propose is a guild system that would operate, through technocracy, for the good of all.
Throughout history it's known that in the monarchies of the time the best things were achieved through guild systems that cared for their members.
And if you think we're becoming some kind of autocracy or monarchy, you're mistaken.
From today, the well-being of the shelter and of all of us will rest with a council of representatives of each guild.
Each guild's representative will care first for the shelter, and then for the members of their own trade.
We propose founding a guild of mechanics, of science, of engineering, of morale, and so on.
If you have the necessary knowledge, please sign up and democratically elect a guild representative.
Don't play favorites, because we reserve the right to remove an unqualified representative from the council.
From today the shelter must be run by experts, otherwise we'll end up like the outside world.
We believe this system will be the fairest, and should you have objections to the proposed system, please present them in writing to the security, who will pass your objection along.
We know you have a lot to think about now, so we ask the security to allow the flow of people through the foyer so the required guilds can be established and representatives elected.
We ask you not to cause the security any trouble, so that everything can be done as quickly and painlessly as possible.
That's all for now from us, who are still working for your benefit.
She stopped, caught her breath, and thought that maybe she'd overdone it with the idea of technocracy when she'd addressed a crowd of young minds.
It would create divisions, power struggles, and conflicts between people.
But in her soul she believed such a system was best.
First of all, the representative of each founded guild would work to supply its members, and if the guilds functioned well, the shelter would function well too.
If only ambitious people were chosen who could face the newly arising situations, of which there would definitely be some.
And most importantly, it bought the shelter a few hours, maybe even days, of peace — or of organized chaos — so people could forget the catastrophe outside and devote their time to structuring the shelter's hierarchy and founding a fair community.
They had a chance at survival and the continuation of the human species — it all just had to be organized properly.
With these thoughts she rose from the chair and left the security room.
She looked once more at the large elevator in the middle.
No, it wasn't time to activate the elevator.
Later, definitely, but for now it was best to keep everything under the control of the fourth-floor security.
She took the radio she carried tucked into her belt and, pressing the transmit button, asked:
"Did you hear it?"
For a moment nothing happened, and she feared she'd have to explain later. Then came static and Nick's familiar voice.
"We did," he answered shortly.
"And do you have any comments?"
"I might have done it differently, but Tomi agrees with you and says it's an excellent idea." Even over the radio she could feel his sarcasm, which provoked her.
"And you've got a better idea, do you, for how to calm and direct two thousand confined people?"
She got no answer; the radio stayed silent.
She didn't know Nick well enough to know how he thought, but it angered her that he pushed himself in everywhere and considered himself to know everything about everything.
And she knew she'd just cornered him with that last sentence, but she had to set boundaries.
After all, he was just a security guard, and she was about to defend a doctorate in botany.
Those thoughts opened her eyes, and she stopped on the staircase.
God, what was she doing? Had she become like that?
An elitist? Was she better than Nick or Tomi just because of her education?
And she'd been trying to found a guild system where every guild would be equal.
Was she risking the emergence of castes in which someone is judged by heritage and position rather than by worth?
Castes in which the scientist is the boss and the maintenance mechanic is little more than a slave?
NO! she decided. She would not allow technocracy to be replaced by a caste system and privileges gained through favors or money.
Everyone must be equal! Everyone is equally important in the shelter, and she would not allow her idea to be twisted and mutate into something terrible.
Nika energetically pressed the transmit button and spoke in a quiet voice:
"I'm sorry, Nick, I made a mistake. I confronted you and everyone else with an idea without our discussing it as equals. My mistake, and please don't consider yourself any less worthy at times like these. If need be, we can try later to use some other idea we all agree on."
She stopped speaking. Silence descended over the staircase. Nika felt terrible, because she'd never considered herself an elitist, and yet look what she was doing at the first opportunity. Finally, from the radio came the familiar static and voice.
"It's all right, Nika…" His voice sounded normal, without the earlier nervousness. "When I think about it a bit more, that guild thing is a damn good idea."
"That's right!" Nika added energetically. "It gives us time to organize everything and tie together the threads of the shelter, and it directs us toward the same goal."
The static whined and Nick's voice reached her, sounding amused.
"Nika, you don't need to sell me the idea, I've already agreed with you. By the way, Tomi sends you a message…"
The radio went quiet. Nika looked at it nervously and turned the charging crank, afraid she'd run out of power.